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Watch, Listen and Play at RTÉjrMon, 27 Jul 2015 13:07:02 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3Spring Song on RTÉjr/uncategorized/2015/03/spring-song/
/uncategorized/2015/03/spring-song/#commentsMon, 09 Mar 2015 12:55:59 +0000http://rtejr.rte.ie/?p=4778RTÉjr celebrates everything that is great about Spring!
]]>/uncategorized/2015/03/spring-song/feed/0Explores the Seasons with Nelly and Nora!/nelly-and-nora/2015/01/explores-the-seasons-with-nelly-and-nora/
/nelly-and-nora/2015/01/explores-the-seasons-with-nelly-and-nora/#commentsFri, 30 Jan 2015 12:22:54 +0000http://rtejr.rte.ie/?p=4585Nelly and Nora enjoy the outdoors in all weather and seasons!

Bláithín is Twįgín’s resident Forget Me Not, forgetful fairy. She is constantly in need of some fairy flutter magic from her fairy friends to help her remember her spells.

She enjoys a giggle and loves Seamus’ jokes which always start her off on her adventures with a smile.

Her best friend is Muireann and they love to sing and play together. Blaithín is also a passionate recycler and with the help of artist Martina she makes beautiful art with what other people would consider rubbish.

But he is a dog so he also likes doing doggy things too like digging, playing fetch and chasing cats.

]]>/twigin/2014/11/meet-seamus/feed/0Red Deer/shutterbugs/shutterbugs-blog/2014/10/red-deer/
/shutterbugs/shutterbugs-blog/2014/10/red-deer/#commentsFri, 31 Oct 2014 12:56:09 +0000http://rtejr.rte.ie/?p=4159Find Out More]]>The Red Deer is one of the largest animals in Ireland.

The male Deer is called a ‘Stag’, the female is called a ‘Hind’ and young Red Deer are called ‘calves’.

A Stag can grow to 1.4metres high at its shoulder and can weigh 200kg – that’s about three times the weight of an average man!

Red Deer graze on grass but will also eat lots of different foods such as herbs, acorns, fruits and woody shoots.

The male Red Deer grows large antlers. These are shed each year and a new set starts to grow.

When the antlers are growing they are covered in a special skin called ‘velvet’. The antlers grow very fast.

Every year the Stag’s antlers grow bigger and bigger. They get extra points on them as well which are called ‘tines’.

In autumn, male Deers compete with other males to become the boss of the herd. They lock antlers and push each other to test their strength. This helps decide who will be the boss and this is called ‘rutting’.

The best place to see Red Deer in Ireland is Killarney National Park in Co. Kerry or Glenveagh National Park in Co. Donegal.

]]>/shutterbugs/shutterbugs-blog/2014/10/red-deer/feed/0Bottlenose Dolphin/shutterbugs/shutterbugs-blog/2014/10/bottlenose-dolphin/
/shutterbugs/shutterbugs-blog/2014/10/bottlenose-dolphin/#commentsFri, 31 Oct 2014 12:52:46 +0000http://rtejr.rte.ie/?p=4155Find Out More]]>The Bottlenose Dolphin is a large dolphin that can reach over 3 metres in length – about the same as two bathtubs end to end.

A dolphin is not a fish. It’s what is called a mammal which means it needs to breathe air. The Dolphin does this by swimming up to the top of the water every now and then to take a breath. It takes in air through the blowhole on the top of its head.

Dolphins live in family groups of about 15 animals.

Dolphins are very clever and sometimes work together as a team to catch fish. They can’t chew so when they catch a fish they swallow it whole.

Dolphins are very playful animals and sometimes jump out of the water. This is called ‘breaching’.

Dolphins have a thick layer of blubber under their skin to keep them warm in cold water. Blubber also gives the dolphin with energy if it cannot find fish for food.

Like other whales and dolphins – and bats – the Bottlenose Dolphin uses echolocation to help it find fish. The Dolphin makes special sounds and when the sounds hit off a fish they bounce back to the Dolphin like an echo. The Dolphin is able to figure out where the fish is and can swim and catch it.

Dolphins aren’t able to go to bed to sleep like you or me. Dolphins need to keep swimming to the surface to breathe air, even at night, so only one half of their brain rests at a time. The other half of their brain stays awake and makes sure the Dolphin returns to the surface to breathe.

]]>/shutterbugs/shutterbugs-blog/2014/10/bottlenose-dolphin/feed/0Badgers/shutterbugs/shutterbugs-blog/2014/10/badgers/
/shutterbugs/shutterbugs-blog/2014/10/badgers/#commentsFri, 31 Oct 2014 12:16:02 +0000http://rtejr.rte.ie/?p=4145Find Out More]]>The Badger has grey fur and black stripes on its face. It has a short fat body and very strong legs.

It is about the same length and weight as a dog like a cocker spaniel but it isn’t as tall.

Badgers live underground in family groups. Badgers make their own home underground by digging what is called a ‘sett.’ This takes a lot of work but the Badger has five long claws on each foot to help it dig.

To make their sett, Badgers dig out lots of tunnels that cris cross with each other. These are called burrows.

The Badger also makes rooms or chambers to sleep in at the end of some of the burrows.

To make their sleeping chambers nice and cosy, Badgers bring in dry grass and straw to line the walls.

Badgers are very clean animals and they like to change their bedding often.

Setts can have a few different entrances and some Badger setts are really big and also very old – lots of Badger families have lived there over the years.

Badgers come out of their sett if they need to use the toilet and can walk a long way from their home before they find a spot they like!

Badgers are ‘nocturnal’ which means they like to sleep during the day and come out after dark to look for food.

Badgers eat plants, berries, mushrooms, frogs and mice but their favourite food are earthworms! They dig for worms in the soil and leave small holes called ‘snuffle holes’.

In winter, Badgers save their energy and don’t move around as much. When it gets really cold and there isn’t much food about, they can live off fat they’ve stored up in their own bodies.

Badger cubs are born underground in the sett and only come out when they are about seven weeks old.

Badgers are related to the otter, stoat and pine marten.

]]>/shutterbugs/shutterbugs-blog/2014/10/badgers/feed/0Bats/shutterbugs/shutterbugs-blog/2014/10/bats/
/shutterbugs/shutterbugs-blog/2014/10/bats/#commentsFri, 31 Oct 2014 12:06:49 +0000http://rtejr.rte.ie/?p=4135Find Out More]]>There are over 1200 different types or ‘species’ of Bat in the world.

Ireland has 11 different species of Bats. The most common Bat in Ireland is called the ‘Common Pippistrelle’.

It is very small, weighing only about 6 grams – the same as a 20 cent coin.

Its head and body measure just 4cm long. Have a look at a ruler and you will see how small this little bat is!

Bats are ‘nocturnal’. This means they sleep during the day and only come out at night.

They like to sleep in cool places such as hollow trees, the roofs of old buildings, in old stone bridges and caves. They can squeeze into very small spaces.

Bats hang upside down when they’re resting – would you get dizzy doing this?!

Bats eat insects and spiders that also come out at night.

Because they have to hunt in the dark, Bats can’t use their eyesight to find food. But that’s OK because Bats have a very special sense to help them.

This special sense is called echolocation made up of the words “echo” and “location”. Bats use an echo to locate their dinner!

They make high-pitched sounds that humans can’t hear. These sounds bounce off insects and return to the bat’s ears so the bat can tell where the insect is, and catch it!

This works very well. A single bat can catch 3,000 little insects, called midges, in one night.

Bats are very good at flying – they have to be if they want to fly around in the dark! So it’s just not true that a bat might get tangled in your hair.

If anyone says to you someone is as “blind as a bat” they’d be wrong too! Bats are not blind – they can probably see as well as you or I. They just use their special sense of hearing instead of their sight when they’re flying. Which makes a lot a sense when they’re flying around at night when it’s hard to see!

]]>/shutterbugs/shutterbugs-blog/2014/10/bats/feed/0Pine Martin/shutterbugs/shutterbugs-blog/2014/10/pine-martin/
/shutterbugs/shutterbugs-blog/2014/10/pine-martin/#commentsFri, 31 Oct 2014 12:04:27 +0000http://rtejr.rte.ie/?p=4133Find Out More]]>The Pine Marten is a beautiful animal that lives in woodland in Ireland. It is about the size of a pet cat.

It has a lovely dark brown fur coat and a long bushy tail that it holds out for balance as it moves through the trees.

It has a yellow ‘bib’ – a patch of creamy yellow fur under its chin.

The Pine Marten is very good at climbing trees and can move quickly through the forest, jumping from tree to tree and running along branches. It has long claws to help it grab onto tree bark

It also has large ears so that it can hear other animals moving around in the forest very well.

It hunts squirrels, mice, rats, birds but it will also eat eggs, fruit, mushrooms, frogs, worms and insects.

Pine Marten used to be very rare in Ireland but now there are more and more of them all over the country.

]]>/shutterbugs/shutterbugs-blog/2014/10/pine-martin/feed/0Peregrine Falcon/shutterbugs/shutterbugs-blog/2014/10/peregrine-falcon/
/shutterbugs/shutterbugs-blog/2014/10/peregrine-falcon/#commentsFri, 31 Oct 2014 11:58:24 +0000http://rtejr.rte.ie/?p=4149Find Out More]]>The Peregrine Falcon is a Bird of Prey, which means it hunts and feeds on other animals.

The Peregrine Falcon is a master hunter. It has a sharp hooked bill or beak and sharp talons (claws) on its feet to help it catch prey.

But its secret weapon is speed. The Peregrine Falcon is the fastest animal on Earth!